Garrison - how big, which units, etc.

[hiram ulysses]

New to AACW, I am still climbing the steep learning curve .. and I'm loving every minute of it.

When I take an Objective city and want to keep it, what sort of garrison force should I put in it?

I know that I should entrench a force outside the city walls, and I plan on doing that - but I want to plan ahead, for the possibility of my defenders being defeated or driven off.

So, how big of a garrison should I have? Made up of what components? And, is building a fort worth the expense of Supply Units and Artillery?

Thanks.

[colonel hurst]

Are you playing as the USA or the CSA? When playing as the USA, I will almost never build forts. As the CSA, I build forts at spots that are critical to defending and possibly hampering the USA's drive into the south such as Memphis.

When building a fort at Memphis, I make sure to have enough of a force to hold the fort, and some artillery to bombard passing ships on the Mississippi. Columbiads work well for this as do coastal artillery if you feel you can spare the resources. A nice sized and well balanced division works well inside the fort, and then I station a couple of cavalry unit near Memphis to help alert me on what advances the Union is making and how large the advancing force is.

To build forts as the CSA, it is best to use the weak supply trains from Virginia and 6lb artillery from either Louisiana or South Carolina.

There is my quick thoughts on fort building, hope you enjoy the game!

[Longshanks]

If you're new, I recommend mastering troop usage first. That means foregoing forts, ships, etc in favor of artillery, infantry and cavalry builds (in that order). Build them and use them through division formation and then corps formation. Once you have that all down, turn to lesser used (but important) things like forts.

As to your original question. Garrisoning is tricky with the AI, who doesn't really play much like another human player. Also, it depends on what settings you give her.

You want to leave a unit or two in areas behind the front, just to keep from losing something cheap, but garrisons ON the front just tend to die and give you nothing unless you stick at least a division or so in there (Inside). Troops on the outside will simply retreat when approached by a bigger force.

Better to have a couple of viable army stacks on the front and kick the crap outta Athena when she approaches. More fun too!

The game REALLY favors defense, but the skills of your generals do matter when assaulting well defended positions. Usually, it's better to attack where they ain't and defend where they is. Make their poor dumb sunnyvabeaches die for their country.

Welcome to the Forums and good luck learning!

[Jim-NC]

Welcome to the forums Hiram Ulysses.

The garrison depend on how valuable the city is. Non strategic/objective cities usually rate a 1 or 2 element garrison (inf only). This keeps Calvary raiding down. The others should have a larger garrison. The exact size depends on the threat level. I try to have a weak division holding Objective cities (the ones worth NM). That will help discourage small attacks. I usually try to keep a strong division or 2 wondering around behind my front lines in each theatre to destroy raids in force. They can be used to help defend important cities.